Patience

‘That’s who you are, that’s what you should’ REM – Imitation of life

Of course in the excitement of the engagement and wedding, I forgot to tell you more great news – well, I think it’s great anyway. After almost 18 months of promising, me and Duncan are coming to London again in September. This of course means a very good excuse for southern-based ODers to join us in Leicester Square one night for much alcohol and chinese food. It’s a bi-annual tradition! So, we’ve booked some time off work at the beginning of september and Helen has kindly offered us her spare room for a few days, so London here we come! We have to do a couple of wedding things – mainly I want to go to a couple of London stores and flounce around in dresses for the hell of it and Duncan has to go to the South African Embassy. Turns out that for the wedding all his documents (passport, birth certificate) have to be copied on embassy headed notepaper. But apart from that, it will be a few days of enjoying big city life and not working.

We had a little engagement celebration at the weekend, just the usual bunch of friends. It gave me a chance to start practising my food skills as we have decided to cater the wedding party in Newcastle ourselves. We also looked at a place last night to host said party and I loved it. More than big enough the place is at a rugby club, so should the weather be nice (and it will be June, so who knows!) we can open the doors of the room and spill outside if wanted. Anyway, it’s sorted and we will more than likely be contacting them after Christmas to book it. We also got a great quote on the wedding and accommodation in the Seychelles and will be booking that next spring. So now we have our budget and know how much we need to be putting away each month to pay for it all. Plus that’s the extent of the organisation required for the next twelve months, so I can now start the second year of my a-level and not be distracted (well, no more than I usually am distracted away from pythagoras’ rule and distribution curves!). Two years (well twenty two months) does seem a positive age away, but look at it this way. We’re now in July, by the end of next month Christmas cards will be in the shops (do I get an award for possibly being the first person to mention christmas on OD this year?!). Before you know it, Christmas has been and gone and it’s next year already. Then it’s my a-level exams, Tony and Kelly get married next June and by that point we’ll be down to less than a year. Anyway, I want to enjoy my engagement and I’d much rather have loads of time to prepare and make everything as perfect as possible rather than less time – I’m just that kind of anal-retentive, organised person.

Plus I have other things to be getting excited about – like the fact that in only 11 days we will be at T in the park to see REM. I was watching the glastonbury highlights over the weekend and I’m very excited about going to see them again – just over four years since I last saw REM. Plus we booked our Leeds tickets this weekend and Melissa is going to come with us, which will be great. I haven’t seen her in too long. Of course that’s it for holidays for us – apart from a trip to Scotland to see my mum (who, after telling me there are two years yet and lots can change in two years – what is that about? – wants to go dress shopping with me next month. I swear, I don’t get my parents sometimes!) My dad wants us to go visit apparently, but I have a feeling he was rat-arsed when he said that and has probably forgotten about it now, like he seems to have forgotten about the engagement. I’m not sure I’m all that psyched about spending a weekend with my drunken father anyway. I know I should, he’s my father and all, but maybe if he acted like it once in a while, I’d be more inclined to act like a daughter. Does that sound selfish? I don’t care. After 26 years of this I’m not inclined to take it anymore. Why should I watch my dad kill himself with alcohol? After 30 odd years of seriously heavy drinking, his liver can’t have that much life left. And yet I know if anything happened to him, I’d wish my attitude had been different. I just can’t help the way I feel.

Apart from all that, I’ve just been enjoying my job. I got paid yesterday – which always helps – and I have an average of a programme a week being broadcast. The excitement of seeing my own subtitles has worn off though – it’s much more fun to watch other channels (such as the BBC) and laugh at all their mistakes. 🙂

Until there is a next time…

xx